Kyousougiga Episode 1 Anime Review

Such a beautiful, beautiful blend of science fiction and fantasy framed wonderfully. I don’t know where to start gushing about the love story in this first episode.

Myoe is a monk in Kyoto whose drawings come to life and move. Actually, scratch that. I wouldn’t say they really come to life, but they do manifest in the real world and move about. One day, he draws a black rabbit with red eyes and names it Koto. Koto watches Myoe and pines for him. The Bodhisattva (an enlightened being in Buddhism) sees this and grants Koto her body. The two of them soon fall in love and have three children. One human boy – Yakushimaru, and two drawn girls – Kurama (I think she’s a girl? Might be a boy?) and Yase. Then, some pissy fellows decide they can’t stay and so the family move to a world Myoe has drawn. Another Kyoto, but written with a different name – Mirror Capital.

The family settles in, but Koto is plagued with a nightmare of the destruction of this new world, and so decides to return her body. Myoe decides to follow her and they leave their children behind. Yakushimaru inherits the name Myoe and continues to live in that world. He is the only one to grow up since all the people there are drawn beings. We also sees that he has taken on his dad’s appearance, probably because he misses them. Near the end of the episode we see lightning strike and a girl appears. Her name is Koto.

I just about teared up at the scene where Myoe bridged the gap between the circle window and the square one, to hug Koto. The music and the symbolism in that scene and the way it was animated was beautiful. I suspect Myoe is some sort of god since there was the comment by the narrator that the lines between god and human was thin. If you’re into traditional things, circles are harmonious and generally preferred to things with sharp corners. So, jumping from a circle to a square, I think in essence symbolises what Myoe is going to give up to be with Koto. Most likely, his godhood or his ability to draw, or something connected to his essence.

I have a few theories about what might happen. Probably, dimension crossing has something to do with Myoe’s prayer beads. They’re circular in nature and we see planets constantly in the episode. I really really wish original Myoe and Koto manage to end up together at the end. I need more of this anime now!